Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Independent pandemic review panel critical of China, WHO delays

An independent panel said on Monday that Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until Jan. 30. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for reforms to the Geneva-based United Nations agency.Their interim report was published hours after the WHO's top emergency expert, Mike Ryan, said that global deaths from COVID-19 were expected to top 100,000 per week "very soon". 'Brexit carnage': shellfish trucks protest in London over export delays

More than 20 shellfish trucks parked on roads near the British parliament and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street residence on Monday to protest against post-Brexit bureaucracy that has throttled exports to the European Union. Many fishermen have been unable to export to the EU since catch certificates, health checks and customs declarations were introduced at the start of this year, delaying their deliveries and prompting European buyers to reject them. Brazil vaccinations start as country faces vaccine ingredient shortfall

Brazil kicked off a nationwide COVID-19 immunization program on Monday by distributing doses of a vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech following an emergency use authorization, although the pace of vaccination will depend on delayed imports. After weeks of setbacks, many Brazilians cheered the first wave of inoculations, from bustling clinics in Sao Paulo to a spectacular shot planned at the foot of the Christ Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Ugandan opposition says troops raid its offices amid election challenge

Bobi Wine, leader of Uganda's main opposition party, said troops raided its headquarters on Monday as staff tried to prepare a legal challenge to President Yoweri Museveni's declared victory in an election last week. Wine, himself under house arrest, said party leaders were now on the run. "Our party office has been raided by the military and been cordoned off," Wine told Reuters. "Everybody is being pursued." Fragile Italian government faces do-or-die votes in parliament

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte faces two days of parliamentary votes that will decide if his fragile coalition can cling to power or has lost its majority, pushing Italy into deeper political turmoil. Conte will address the lower house on Monday and the upper house, the Senate, on Tuesday about the future of his government after a junior partner quit the cabinet in a row over his handling of the twin coronavirus and economic crises. Exclusive: Trump lifting COVID-19 travel restrictions on Europe, UK, Brazil - sources

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday rescinded entry bans imposed because of the coronavirus on most non-U.S. citizens arriving from Brazil and much of Europe effective Jan. 26, two officials briefed on the matter told Reuters. Reuters first reported in November that the administration had been considering lifting the restrictions, imposed early last year in response to the pandemic, after winning support from coronavirus task force members and public health officials. Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny calls for street protests after being jailed

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Monday urged Russians to take to the streets in protest after a judge remanded him in pre-trial detention for 30 days despite calls from Western countries to free the opposition politician. The United Nations and Western countries had told Moscow before the ruling to let Navalny go, and some countries have called for new sanctions on Moscow, which on Monday told them to mind their own business. Germany regrets U.S. decision to sanction Russian vessel involved in Nord Stream 2

The United States has informed Germany that it plans to impose sanctions on a Russian pipe-laying ship involved in construction of the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, the German Economy Ministry said on Monday. "We're taking note of the announcement with regret," an Economy Ministry spokesman in Berlin said. 'We're starving': U.S.-bound migrant caravan hunkers down after Guatemala crackdown

Hundreds of Honduran migrants huddled overnight on a highway in eastern Guatemala after domestic security forces used sticks and tear gas to halt the passage of a U.S.-bound caravan just days before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office. As many as 8,000 migrants, including families with young children, have entered Guatemala since Friday, authorities say, fleeing poverty and lawlessness in a region rocked by the coronavirus pandemic and back-to-back hurricanes in November. Trump orders assessment of security risks of Chinese made drones in U.S. govt fleet

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing U.S agencies to prioritize removing Chinese-made drones from American government fleets and to assess any security risks. Trump directed all U.S. agencies to outline security risks posed by the existing government drone fleet from drones built by Chinese companies or by other countries deemed foreign adversaries.

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